Ash Barty has won the Australian Open final in straight sets against Danielle Collins to end a 44-year drought for Australian women at their home Grand Slam tournament.
Collins, who grew up in St. Petersburg and is ranked 30th in the world, lost to the Barty, who is currently the top-ranked woman in professional tennis.
In Melbourne, Barty won the first set with one service break but was down 5-1 in the second set after dropping serve in the second and sixth games.
Collins had two chances to serve for the set but was broken both times. Barty dominated after taking the set to a tiebreaker.
Collins, 28, started playing tennis at the age of 3 in St. Petersburg and won a college scholarship to play tennis following her success at Northeast High. According to her professional biography, Collins was introduced to the sport by her dad, Walter, who also served as her first coach. She won two national women’s singles titles while playing collegiately at the University of Virginia.
Saturday’s Australian Open final was Collins’ best finish as a pro. In 2020, she reached the French Open quarterfinals, and in 2019, she played in the Australian open semifinals. That year was her first time she was ranked in among the world’s top 30.
Barty is the first Australian woman to win the singles title on home soil since Chris O'Neil in 1978.
She also now has major titles on three surfaces, adding the hard court at Melbourne Park to her win on grass at Wimbledon and on clay at the French Open.
